General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20263 min read

Tango (1993 film)

Tango is a 1993 French black comedy directed by Patrice Leconte about three men, two of them related, who set out on a road trip with the aim of murdering one of their estranged wives. It was produced in 1992 and released in France on February 3, 1993.¹

Key fact	Detail
Director and writers	Patrice Leconte; screenplay by Leconte and Patrick Dewolf¹
French release	February 3, 1993; production year 1992¹
Genre and length	Comedy, about 90 minutes (listed as 1h 30m, 1h 28min, and 90' by different sources)²^•³^•⁴
Principal cast	Philippe Noiret (the judge, L'Elégant), Richard Bohringer (Vincent Baraduc), Thierry Lhermitte (Paul), Miou-Miou (Marie)²^•⁴
Supporting cast	Carole Bouquet, Jean Rochefort, Judith Godrèche, Michèle Laroque¹^•³
Production companies	Cinea, Hachette Première; copyright 1993 Pathé Films, H & Cie, TF1 Films Production, Zoulou Films¹^•⁴
Reception	IMDb rating 6.2 from about 1,500 votes; Tomatometer 69% from a single counted review³^•²

Spoilers

Plot

Vincent Baraduc (Richard Bohringer), a stunt pilot, discovers that his wife is unfaithful and kills both her and her lover; a jury acquits him, though the presiding judge, L'Elégant (Philippe Noiret), is fairly certain of his guilt.² Years later the judge, a confirmed bachelor, blackmails Vincent into helping his nephew Paul (Thierry Lhermitte), whose wife Marie (Miou-Miou) has left him. The judge and Paul demand that Vincent kill Marie, and the three men take to the road to find her, passing the time by discussing their relationships with women.¹

The Italian film evaluation board's synopsis adds a prologue: Paul, married for ten years to the submissive Marie, is caught by her while courting another woman in a restaurant; in a fury of jealousy she is found at home with the taxi driver who brought her there, after which she leaves her husband and disappears.⁴

Production and crew

The film was photographed by Eduardo Serra in scope and color, with music by Angelique Nachon and Jean-Claude Nachon and editing by Genevieve Winding.⁴ Production companies included Cinea and Hachette Première, and the copyright notice of 1993 names Pathé Films, H & Cie, TF1 Films Production, and Zoulou Films.¹ In Italy it was distributed by Columbia Tristar Film Italia.⁴

Reception

The Italian Commissione Nazionale Valutazione Film judged the film inaccettabile, amorale (unacceptable, immoral), describing its treatment of marriage and relations between the sexes as moving between the paradoxical and the sarcastic, with extremely explicit language and an underlying bitter nihilism; the same evaluation conceded that the film shows notable qualities in its editing and acting.⁴

Critic Adam Mars-Jones of the Independent (UK) wrote that "the trouble with Tango is not that it is shocking but that it is shockingly derivative."² An All Movie Guide summary quoted by Entertainment.ie framed the film's premise as the idea that unattached men long to live with women, and once they do, they long to live without them, calling it an all-star comedy that wrings gentle humor from murderous misogyny.⁵ Audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes have singled out Philippe Noiret's performance for praise.²

Availability

As of recent checks, the film can be rented or purchased digitally in France on services including Canal VOD, Amazon Video, Pathé Home, and the Apple TV Store.³ It is not available for streaming in the Netherlands or Belgium, where it can be bought on DVD or Blu-ray.⁶

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026